Dennis B.

I recently purchased a CTEk 3300 and cigarette lighter adapter for winter storage. I have a couple of questions and I was hoping someone might steer me in the right direction.

1) I live in New England and store my 2006 C6 in an unheated attached garage. Is the cigarette lighter adapter a safe way of charging/tending the battery during winter storage?

2) There were no directions with the adapter. Do I just plug it into the cigarette lighter, make the connection and thats it? Is this method safe for the electronics? Also , I assume the charger should remain outside the car. Is that correct?
Do I need to open the garage doors or windows for periodic ventalation?

3) How do you run the cord to the outside of the car? I'm guessing you just put the window down a hair.

4) If I decide to connect the charger to the battery, do I hook it up directly to the battery or should I hook it up like they tell you to do when jump starting the car ex. red cable goes on the remote terminal in the black box and the negative cable goes to the remote terminal below the engine cover. Or is that just for jump starting?
Thank you very much in advance.
Dennis B.
Peabody MA

GASCAR

Hi Dennis,

You can just plug into the cigarette adapter and lower the window a little to run the cord out. I connected the cables directly to the battery with the cables that came with the charger and ran the wires down inside the engine bay towards the floor.
No need to open the garage doors no need for ventilation in the garage.
Once it's plugged in push the button on the ctek to the car picture that is for charging cars.
A couple more month aand we can drive the cars.

petiebear

I just got a CTEK 7002 and the cigarette adapter. I was wondering the same thing as you. I hooked it up to the cigarette lighter and ran the wire out the bottom of the door. There is rubber around the door, so it doesn't hurt the wire. The unit is outsde the car. Everything seems to be working okay but, I would also like to know if this is the right way to do it.
I tried to run the wire out the window but, the wire isn't long enoughfor the unit to reach the floor. I didn't want it to hang against the side of the car.

BearZ06

Just run the wire out the door, the gasket won't damage it especially if you put it on the notch in the door sill.

Kreuzen

The lighter and/or AC plugs work great. Basically, these inputs run directly thru the cars fuse-block directly to the battery. Completely safe, no resistance, fuses to blow or changes of damaging any of the cars electronics. I've been using this method nice '05 with absolutely no problems. As far as running the wire ~ either out the window or between the door and door sill/gasket (door closed) are both perfectly fine. Let the battery tendering begin!

Dennis B.

Hey, Thanks to all. I was getting sick of replacing the battery.
Dennis B.

Mike Green9

I have been using the CTEK 3300 for 2 years now. It is a great product.

The cig lighter works fine. I personally hook mine up under the hood. Install the red wire to the "jump start" terminal at the fuse block first, then the black to the negative terminal on the battery.

Watch the LEDs. If you blunder, the LED goes red. You can't go wrong.
Absolutely safe for electronics, and no venting is required.

I don't use the cig lighter feature. I rotate my CTEK to other vehicles (and tractor), and I don't like opening the door each time I want to swap the CTEK out.

Since I'm not in a rush (2 months to spring lol), I use the .8 amp (lowest) setting. The C6 will draw 15 milliamps when snoozing, so the low setting is fine. It will just take a tad longer to bring the battery up to snuff.

Hope this helps.


M.....

ALVetteFan

I am thinking about purchasing the 3300 and wanted to use the cigarette lighter route as well. I noticed on the CTEK web site under accessories it stated the following: "The CTEK Cigarette Adapter allows you to charge your battery through a vehicles cigarette port or most accessory ports. The port must be directly hot wired to the battery as opposed to through a fuse box. Makes charging simple and easy without messing with the battery."

I have not looked at the fuse box to see which "ports" might or might not run through it. Does anyone know if the cigarette lighter is "directly hot wired"?

Mike Green9

What the C-TEK requires is a cigarette lighter that does not shut off with the ignition i.e. it always has 12 volts of power.

On some foreign cars, you must turn on the ignition in order to get power to the cigarette lighter. This is not a good setup for the C-TEK, as more power is being used with the ignition on, and defeats the purpose.

All cigarette lighters are fuse protected.

To answer your question more directly - the C6 cigarette lighter is good to go with regards to the C-TEK.

M...

speedster516

Been using this method with the lighter for 4 years and works great. Run wire by notch out the bottom of door.

ALVetteFan

Thank you for the information.

ALVetteFan

I have a follow up question related to connections. I have the 3300, but the cigarette lighter adapter has not yet arrived. Can the CTEK be connected directly to the battery, or should it be connected to the jump points described in the Owner's Manual? I don't want to risk messing up the electronics. Thanks.

BostonJoel

Yes and there is a cord with the unit that allows you to hook up to battery posts. I mounted the CTEK on the garage ceiling, powered it off the garage door opener plug and then let the cord hang down to the battery. Lowered the hood gently without slamming it shut. When not in use I hook the cord on a small hook I mounted to the garage door opener motor.

ALVetteFan

Thanks for the info.

CyberGrayGS

Do you guys use the 14.7 mode (CTEK 3300) at all? I noticed the manual recommends using it below 41 degrees F, but then also says to consult your battery manufacturer. I have the original Delco battery.

Thanks!

TKgs2010

I used it on my new GS last winter, and just getting ready to do it for this year in the next week or so. I just plug the adapter into the cig lighter receptacle and run the cord out the rain slot at the bottom of the passenger door, and leave the charger on a small table next to the car. Be sure to toggle the charger to the snowflake icon when leaving it on for a long stretch. The cord will run right out the rain slot without pinching, you can still move it with the door closed. Ni issues at all, I talked to a GM engineer and he said leave the battery in and connected and don't start the car until I'm ready to drive it. I did the oil change before winter, and in the spring it started right up, no issues whatsoever. Pump the tires up a bit and put them on either carpeting or wood, no flat spotting was detected. Mine's in an attached insulated 3+ car garage, heated at times by a space heater, I think just the normal up and down of the doors is enough to ventilate. In short, winter sucks, but at least you'll have it ready to roll in the spring. By the way the cover will fit right over the car while plugged in, no problem.

TKgs2010

Cig lighter is hot, that's the one I use. Check my comments to the OP,it's a good system and maybe I've touched on a few questions you might have.

Mike Green9

Do you guys use the 14.7 mode (CTEK 3300) at all? I noticed the manual recommends using it below 41 degrees F, but then also says to consult your battery manufacturer. I have the original Delco battery.


I prefer not to use that mode. It is safest to use the "second" mode, which I believe is 3.2 amps.

Since I am generally not in a rush these days, I use the "first" mode which is .8 amps. It is slower, but I prefer this mode as it is gentler. Probably makes no difference, but it is the mode of choice for me. I set it 3 or 4 hourse before I'm going out, and presto it does the trick.


Since mine is not a DD, I always CTEK before starting up for the day. It is best to have a fully charged battery when makeing a big draw on current such as cranking.


M....

Gearhead Jim

I bought the Corvette-badged CTEK 3300 this summer. It works great, but the twin wires are a little too thick to fit into the rain channel at the bottom of my door frame. If I run them there and then close the door, being careful not to move the wires, the fit is still so tight I can't slide the wires, and the insulation looks slightly crimped afterward.

Someone said the newer units have thicker wires, but i don't have an old one to compare.
Or maybe my rain channel is tighter than most.
Either way, I lower the window and run the wires out the window. A minor PITA, but still a good unit.

incabird

My 2011 C6 came with a battery charger. Is this the CTEK mentioned above? If so, is it as good as the Battery Tender Plus? Does it function in a similar manner by allowing the battery to cycle up and down?